Every time you put $50 worth of gas into your vehicle, $15 goes to one level of government or another - that's a 30 per cent tax rate on fuel. While the price of gasoline has soared over the years, putting a vice grip on drivers' wallets, the government is rolling in surplus cash.

The price of gasoline consists of the cost of crude oil, the refining margin, the marketing margin and the taxes. At 30 per cent, taxes make up the second largest chunk of the price next to the price of the crude oil to make the gas.

The federal government imposes a 10 cent per litre excise tax as well as the GST - which also applies to the excise tax. The kicker is the excise tax wasn't always 10 cents. In 1995, Ottawa increased the tax from 8.5 to 10 cents as a "deficit reduction" measure. The deficit was vanquished eight years ago but the federal government's gouging at the pumps continues - even with multi-year, multi-billion dollar surpluses.

It only goes to remind us there is no such thing as a "temporary tax."

The province piles a 15 cent per litre fuel tax on top of that. The only areas with a higher provincial tax than Saskatchewan are Victoria, Vancouver, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. In Manitoba they charge a mere 11.5 cents while Alberta charges only nine cents.

For every 10 cent increase in the price of gas the federal government rakes in an extra $175 million. Last year Ottawa collected $1.4 billion in GST alone on gasoline.
There's no question that gas taxes are excessive.

Even Stephen Harper agrees (well, at least he used to before he became Prime Minister). In a news release in May of 2004 Stephen Harper said "the fastest and easiest way to give Canadians relief at the pump is for the federal government to stop charging GST on top of gasoline excise taxes. It's time to axe the tax on the tax."

Well said, Mr. Prime Minister. Now it's time to walk the talk.

The pain at the pumps might be somewhat soothed if people knew gas tax money was being used to maintain roads and highways - but that's not the case. Of the $5.2 billion collected from gas and diesel (not including GST) only 17 per cent, or $882 million, were sent back to our communities for road and highway development. Gas taxes are a user fee for roads and Ottawa should use 'em or lose 'em.

Saskatchewan isn't much better. The province is set to collect $500 million in gas tax and licensing fees but only 58 per cent of that is set to go back into transportation spending. It's no wonder Saskatchewan has some of the worst highways in Canada.

Canadians deserve a break at the pumps and they deserve it now. The federal government should transfer and dedicate five cents per litre of federal gas tax revenues to municipalities for roadway construction. It's important to note that, in 2003, municipalities spent $6.4 billion building and maintaining roads. More than 80 per cent of all roads in Canada are municipal roads.

The remaining half should be returned to motorists and taxpayers in the form of lower gasoline taxes, starting with elimination of the 1.5 cent per litre "deficit elimination" tax. In addition, the federal government should eliminate the GST that is applied to the federal and provincial tax components of the pump price. Finally, Ottawa should reduce its levy by another two cents.

These changes will, on average, save motorists five cents a litre and give consumers a real break at the pumps.